After yesterday’s quartet of games, we now know four of the teams moving on to the round of 16: from Group A, host country Brazil (sigh of relief, everyone in Brazil) and Mexico, and from Group B, the Netherlands and Chile. Today we learn the World Cup fates of teams in Groups C and D, in games that are played simultaneously, for each group, on two different cable networks. ESPN, at noon ET, presents Group D’s Italy vs. Uruguay (pictured), two teams that have split their previous gam

2014

Jun

2014 WORLD CUP By David Bianculli

Meanwhile, over on ESPN2, the noon ET game is Group D’s Costa Rica vs. England, which is a sad sight for England fans: Their team already has been eliminated, and Costa Rica has surprised everyone by winning the group and qualifying already, so this game means nothing. Except for pride, which the British have in abundance. Then, at 4 p.m. ET, the game is Group C’s Greece vs. Ivory Coast. If Ivory Coast wins, it advances to the knockout round. If Greece wins – and it would have

2014

Jun

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: "FREEDOM SUMMER" By David Bianculli

Writer-producer-director Stanley Nelson had trod the civil-rights path before for American Experience, and, as producer, emerged with thoughtful, informative yet undeniably and understandably emotional documentaries on, among others, Emmitt Till, Jesse Owens, and the 2011 study Freedom Riders, of which this new two-hour American Experience is a sociological sequel. It covers the 10-week period in 1964 in which student volunteers, carefully chosen and emotionally vetted, were sent to the toxicall

2014

Jun

TYRANT By David Bianculli

SERIES PREMIERE: Look, let’s be honest. Almost any series would be a comedown, arriving in the time slot just vacated by Fargo. But Tyrant arrives with a premiere episode so heavy on exposition, and so familiar in its basic structure – beat by beat, it starts out, pretty much, as The Godfather with mosques – that it doesn’t impress so much as make you question where it’s going. But give executive producer Howard Gordon, whose credits almost include 24 and Homeland,

2014

Jun

COVERT AFFAIRS By David Bianculli

SEASON PREMIERE: Last season, secret agent Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) was faking her own death, chasing a rogue bad guy, and separated physically from most other characters in the show. Now, for Season 5, that plot line is over, so Covert Affairs gets to push the reset button – but does so in ways that may send Annie not only on new missions, but with new colleagues as well.

2014

Jun

ROCKING THE HERD By Eric Gould

Now, space travel is so routine it’s a challenge to name the latest launch or even one current astronaut. With space technology now going private, here’s one video example from the rocket company SpaceX, which shows a test flight of the Falcon 9 Reusable which can blast off and, hey lookit that, return to the launch pad...

2014

Jun

2014 WORLD CUP By David Bianculli

If yesterday’s USA vs. Portugal match didn’t prove to you that just about anything can happen at the World Cup, and often does, I don’t know what else to submit as Exhibit B. Both teams got to experience euphoric goals, and leads, and equally exhilarating game-tying rallies. And in the end, the US finds itself fighting to move on to the next stage, along with every other team in Group G. Meanwhile, the third and final games in all groups are played beginning today, when the tea

2014

Jun

2014 WORLD CUP By David Bianculli

The reason these final group stage games are being played at the same time is so teams can’t use the knowledge of their changing standings to influence how, and even whom, they play. It’s a wonderful idea – but in the age of smartphones and other instant-info technology, if one Group A game is a rout, wouldn’t that news “leak” in plenty of time to coaches at the other Group A game site? Just asking. Meanwhile, here are the games you can see today on ESPN2. Fir

2014

Jun

24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY By David Bianculli

Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) has had plenty of bad days over the run of 24, but President Heller (William Devane) just had his worst one. Now what?

2014

Jun

THE CASE AGAINST 8 By David Bianculli

This new HBO documentary looks at the pair of same-sex couples who fought, all the way to and through the Supreme Court, arguing that California’s Proposition 8, which denied marriage equality, was unconstitutional. The filmmakers were there every step of the way, making for a long, arduous journey through the legal system – and the media gauntlet.

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